The Steamboat Grand is a 328-room quartershare condominium hotel located steps away from the Gondola Square at Steamboat Ski Resort.  Built to four-diamond standards, unit amenities include marble baths, whirlpool tubs and granite countertops.  The hotel features restaurants, lounges, health club, outdoor pool and spa, more than 28,000 square feet of conference and event space.
�Steamboat is an incomparable resort, with a uniquely Western feel,� said Chris Diamond, president of the resort.  �We kept the atmosphere of the resort and the community very much in mind when designing the hotel and its amenities, and owners who checked in this past weekend were uniformly delighted with the results.  With its unparalleled facilities and access to the mountain, the addition of the Steamboat Grand further cements our position as the premier family destination.�

�From its very inception, this hotel property was designed and programmed to be the centerpiece of the resort experience.  The Steamboat Grand will undoubtedly provide our guests with a premier resort experience,� said Hernan Martinez, Chief Operating Officer of Real Estate for American Skiing Company.

According to Mr. Martinez, the company expects to recognize revenues in excess of $35 million as owners close on their units in the coming weeks.  The Company is also selling down completed inventory at The Canyons in Utah and resorts in New England.  �Together, these sales will provide the basis for the company�s strategy to de-lever the real estate division,� Mr. Martinez said.

The quartershare resort condominium hotel concept at ski resorts, which makes convenient, upscale vacation home ownership available at affordable prices, was pioneered by American Skiing Company chairman Leslie B. Otten at the Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry, Maine.  The company�s first quartershare hotel, the Grand Summit, opened in 1992.  Since then, in addition to the Steamboat Grand, American Skiing Company has built Grand Summit Hotels at Killington and Mount Snow in Vermont, Attitash Bear Peak in New Hampshire and The Canyons in Utah.  It has also built a second hotel at Sunday River.  The Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel became part of the Grand Summit chain in 1998.  An additional Grand Summit Hotel is planned for Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe, CA.
Facts about the Steamboat Grand Resort and Conference Center:

• Total number of units:  182, with lockouts to provide a total of 328 lodging units
• Total square footage:  450,000
• Man-hours to build:  nearly 1 million
• Restaurants and bars:  One restaurant, one cafe and lobby bar
• Conference facilities:  21,000 square feet, including a 5,900 square foot Grand Ballroom and five conference rooms and outdoor meeting and social areas
• Retail space: 18,000 square feet
• Peak employment during construction:  450
• Peak employment in full operation:  200-250 

Statements in this press release, other than statements of historical information, are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date hereof.  Please refer to the �Risk Factors� and �Certain Forward-Looking Statements� included in American Skiing Company�s quarterly and annual reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.